


Not What It Seems

by hopanrelated (devilishangel)



Category: Legacies (TV 2018), The Originals (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, But a Good Match-Maker, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Even if That Wasn't his Plan, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hope Mikaelson Needs a Hug, Just in Denial, Malivore is a Bad Father, Not Beta Read, Protective Ryan Clarke, Slow Burn, Sort Of, The Originals Season 5, They're Still Cute and In Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21594226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devilishangel/pseuds/hopanrelated
Summary: After getting out of Malivore Ryan Clarke wakes up in a strange house, but he isn't as alone as he thinks he is. And things are definitely about to get even more confusing.(Not canon compliant)
Relationships: Ryan Clarke & Hope Mikaelson, Ryan Clarke/Hope Mikaelson
Comments: 23
Kudos: 104





	1. Chapter 1

His father gives him no explanation as he pulls him from the eternal darkness, only a loud "Destroy the tribrid before she has the strenght to destroy me," that echoes through the empty space.

A light appears in front of Ryan, similiar to the one that took Hope away, so bright he has to close his eyes. A few moments pass and he feels nothing, no magical pull, no warmth he felt the last time his father relased him.

He opens his eyes expecting to once again see the darkness of Malivore around him, counting on the light to have either been a trick of his wishful mind or yet another cruel trick done by his father to torture him. A gasp escapes his lips as he notices he is no longer in Malivore, instead he is standing alone in the middle of a large foreign house.

There are loud sounds coming from the open window and he rushes towards it when almost like magic the window closes on it's own. He tries to open it again but it doesn't budge, not even an inch. Out of habit he starts turning around, on high alert to any possible danger but he's still all alone-

the only difference being there doesn't appear to be any way out because the only doors he sees appear to lead further into the house instead of out. And that's when he hears it, loud voices he can't really tell apart coming from somewhere inside the house.

As he moves closer to the door the voices become clearer and louder, or at least loud enough Ryan can now tell what's being said.

"...experience, fathers cause pain. Whether by their presence or their absence, there's a certain type of ruin that only a father can can leave behind." He can't help but laugh bitterly, just like his father to get him stuck in the middle of someone's house. Only so he could listen to some man explain things about bad fathers as if Ryan himself doesn't have enough of experience on the topic.

"And you you were such a sweet little girl. Perhaps I was always bound to leave you broken." He frowns a little but moves foward and out of the room, realising easdropping to strangers sure as hell wasn't about to get him out.

And he still has no idea who these people are or why his bastard of a father sent him here.

He freezes when he hears a familiar voice, one he couldn't possibly mistake because he had just spent months surronded with only that voice to keep him company. "You-you really think I'm broken?"

Hope Mikaelson. The tribrid that left him behind to rot, the mere thought of her makes his blood boil in anger.

Yet he finds himself strangely affected by the clear sadness in her voice, and he finds himself unable to shake the feeling of empathy despite his anger. And there is something strange about realising that you feel bad for someone that's supposed to be your worst enemy.

He's unsure how much time passes as he stand there, frozen and lost in his thoughts but loud sobbing snaps him out of it. He looks back only to find the window is open again but finds himself unable to leave, not while he can still hear Hope's cries.

Without thinking it through he rushes towards the sound, something he will with no doubt kick himself for later.

He finds the room she's in fairly easy, her sobs louder the closer he gets. She's kneeling on the ground as if in pain and despite her back being turned away from him he can tell she's not hurt- at least not physically.

For some reason he doesn't really want to think about the sight breaks his heart. As he debates on wether he should approach her or dissapear before she notices him, she turns around, leaving him with no real choice.

He thinks she's about to yell at him or attack but she doesn't do either. Instead she stands up and starts looking at him confused, her mouth opening and closing several time.

"I'm sorry but who the hell are you? And how did you get in here?" As she speaks it gives Ryan just a few moments to really look at her, for the first time noticing she looks strangely different from the last time he saw her.

"You mean how did I get out of Malivore despite you abbandoning me there?" He asks, his voice cold but surprisingly not very unkind.

To his further shock his words only leave Hope appearing to be even more confused then before. "I'm sorry but I really don't know who you are... or where Malivore is?"

She sounds unsure, her sentance coming out more as a question than a statement. He moves foward, growing tired of her making no sense.

Only stopping when he notices her moving backwards, away from him, one of her hands in the air as if she's preparing to do a spell.

And that's when he realizes she genuinely has no idea who he is, because the Hope he's grown to know has never hesitated to do a spell like that- not once.

That's when his father's parting words flash through his mind and it suddenly all makes sense- both why she looks so different and why she has no idea who he or Malivore are.

Just to be sure he puts his hands in front of him and takes a step backwards, hoping the gesture would show her he means no harm.

He scoffs out loud, even more done with it all then before. Leave it to his father to get a monster to send his son back in time to fix his problems- making him appear in the same house as an apparently younger and defenseless Hope Mikaelson.

In that moment Ryan can honestly say nothing that happens to him in the future should be able to surprise him anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

There is loud noise in Ryan's head, ringing that seems to follow him everywhere he moves as his vision becomes blury.

He closes his eyes for a split second, or at least that's how much time he thinks passes.

But it must be longer because the next time he opens his eyes he is lying on a bed in a room that's definitely not his.

And Hope Mikaelson is sitting on a chair next to him, sleeping with an open book in her lap- some sort of spell book writen before even Ryan himself was created.

He takes that moment to fully look at her for the first time, just sitting there with her guard down, completely vulnable.

It seems foolish to him, someone that has been forced to constantly be on the edge from the moment he took his first breath.

He knows he should use this oportunity to kill her, snap her neck and burn her body so she could never be brought back.

Ryan knows this and yet he doesn't move an inch, something he can't even beggin to understand screaming at the mere idea of murdering the girl in front of him. The only person that has showed him any type of kindness in centuries.

So he shifts and makes himself more comfortable as he drifts back to sleep, his body drained from the power it took to travel through both space and time.

As he falls asleep he promises himself he will kill Hope next time he gets the chance, it's promise that feels laughable even to himself but he can't imagine what punishment his father will create for him if he fails.

Again.

The next time he wakes up Hope is no longer by his side and there is sunlight coming through the large windows, making him wince as he tries to sit up.

As if somehow alarmed by the sound, Hope comes rushing into the room, a worried expression on her face.

"Hi, uhm- morning. Are you feeling alright? You passed out last night so I brought you to one of the rooms to get some rest."

She smiles as she continues rambling and it's bizzare, at least when he remembers their past- or future, just thinking about the logistics makes his head ache.

"-and it was the closest one so I brought you here." As he snaps out of his thoughts he realizes he's missed about half of her speech but he nods and smiles anyway.

"Yeah, thank you. But I should probably get going." Ryan moves to stand up but almost ends up falling to the ground again.

The only thing stopping him from meeting the ground are Hope's quick reflexes as she catches his arm and helps him regain his stability.

"You should probably sit down, you're still quite pale and my spell could only help so much."

She rambles again and he can't help but think it's adorable.

Adorable? He quickly shakes the thought away. Instead he raises an eyebrow, his lips pulling into another smile. "A spell?"

Her eyes widen as if she hadn't meant to say that part out loud, suddenly looking anywhere but at him.

"Well yes. You were shaking and murmuring a lot in your sleep so I- I cast a sort of comfort/healling spell."

She giggles nervously, still avoiding his gaze.

"You seemed like you were in pain and I just wanted to help. I'm sorry I know I should have probably checked with you first."

He takes pity on her and laughs, shaking his head. "It's okay, don't worry about it."

At his words her head snaps up and she smiles once again.

"Oh, good- great. I should probably leave you to get some rest and go back to researching every single cloaking spell ever written." She laughs a little, the gesture fake enough for Ryan to notice.

And for an unknown reason enough for him to worry. He sits on the bed, his head still dizy but better then when he woke up.

"And why are you researching every cloaking spell ever written? Need to hide a body or something?" He jokes and sees her wince.

"The opposite really, I put a cloaking spell on someone and now they've been taken." She looks down but he still sees the tears appear in her eyes.

"And because of my cloaking no tracking spell works. So I'm trying to undo it, but since we're not in the same room I've been failing."

Ryan's never been good at spells and magic, being born without the ability to do either limiting his curiosity on the subject. But he speaks before thinking, "I could help."

He shuts his lips shut, visibly surprised by his own offer. And judging by the way Hope looks at him she's just as surprised as he is.

"I mean I'm sure there are thousands of books on cloaking spells, I could help you go through them untill you find what you're looking for?"

He continues, doing his best to hide his uncertainty.

Because not killing her when he had the chance is one thing, something that can be signed off as a momentary weakness. But willingly offering to help her is a completely different situation.

He's about to take it back when she moves over and pulls him into a hug, surprising him enough that he just freezes in the spot.

"Yeah, I could really use the help right now."

Ryan can't see her but she sounds on the edge of crying and he hesitates to return the hug, akwardly patting her on the shoulder instead.

Seemingly noticing his discomfort she parts away from him. "Sorry, I completely overstepped any boundaries it's just that it's been a long few days. And I just really needed a hug."

She once again looks away, visibly embarrassed by her impulsive gesture. "Won't happen again."

She tries to smile but it comes out as more of a pained grimace, completely blown by the tears falling down her cheeks.

So he does the only thing he can think of and this time he wraps her into a hug. "It's okay, I'm here just let it go."

She freezes for a split second before wrapping her arms around him and burrying her face in his neck, her body shaking against his as she sobs in his arms.

And it's then that Ryan Clarke realizes he is completely and utterly screwed, because there is no way in hell he will be able to bring himself to kill Hope Mikaelson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is set somewhere between 5x02 and 5x03 of The Originals, just after Hope leans her mother has really been kidnapped. The only difference being she didn't go back to Mystic Falls with Roman.


	3. Chapter 3

They're sitting on the sofa, still going through grimoires and reading about every cloaking spell that exists when she tells him she's leaving New Orleans.

He freezes for a second before nodding his head, tracing his fingertips over the worn out page of the spellbook in his hands.

And she continues, like she needs to explain why. "I'm not even supposed to be here, I was only back because I got suspended."

She takes a deep breath and he stays silent, letting her finish.

"And with my mom gone-" she trails off for a second, a bitter laugh escaping her lips "my dad thinks it would be best if I went back to Mystic Falls. He already called the school and got the headmaster to agree."

He closes the spell book and places it on the coffee table in front of them, turning slightly to face her.

"And what do you think?"

It's a simple question but Hope appears puzzled by it, as if somehow what she thought and wanted hadn't even crossed her mind.

"I guess I don't want to go back, not really. But I don't want to stay here either. Most of the school doesn't even know who I am which means they're going to expect me to be the quiet little Hope Marshall again."

She leans back in her seat, toying with her 'M' pendant- twirling it nervously between her fingers.

"And everyone here is on edge around me, I can tell they're just waiting for me to explode in the true Mikaelson fashion and destroy New Orleans or something."

She looks away, as if expecting him to laugh at her insecurities and call her silly.

He doesn't.

Instead he takes her hand into his, still quite unsure how to comfort someone but doing his best.

"You're powerful Hope, there are always going to be people that will be scared of all that power. Hell I'm terrified." He laughs, squeezing her hand lightly.

"Really, terrified?" She chuckles, raising one of her eyebrows- it reminds him of the moment just before she pulled him into Malivore but he chases the thought away with a light shake of his head.

"Oh yeah, absolutely terrified. I mean look at you, super scary."

Hope slaps his arm playfully, rolling her eyes- clearly amused by his dramatics. "Not funny, okay? And super unhelpful by the way."

Despite her words there is a genuine smile on her face and Ryan feels glad he's the reason for it.

There is a knock on the door that snaps him out of it, followed by a female voice- one of her aunts, he assumes.

"That's my aunt Freya-" she tells him as she moves to stand up, removing her hand from his as she leaves his side

"I'll go see what she wants but you should probably stay in this room in case my dad shows up. He isn't very welcoming with guests."

She sends him a tiny wave and leaves, locking the door behind her.

A few minutes pass before he stands up and starts looking around the room.

This is the first time since he came there that he's left all alone in the house. It's strange in a way.

And despite it only being a few days he's gotten used to Hope's company, she's very different from the girl he's gotten used to back in his time.

Or maybe she's just more open and honest then she had ever been with him, even in Malivore she had always kept her distance- cleverly staying on the line between trusting and distrusting him.

Ryan passes through the room quickly, not really looking for anything specific just curious to see what the great Hope Mikaelson kept in her room-

the old magical items and spellbooks aren't a surprise, but the stuffed rabitt thrown into the closet is. He thinks it's cute- and frowns because he really needs to stop his mind from thinking how cute or pretty she just so happens to be.

It's becoming a problem.

He shuts the closet door and moves to sit back on the sofa, unwilling to be caught snooping like some teenage boy.

Luck must be on his side because not even five minutes pass before Hope comes barging into the room, visibly upset.

It seems that whatever her aunt needed her for clearly didn't go very well.

She's carrying a small paper bag that she places on the coffee table in front of him. "It's beignets. My aunt and I usually just go out to eat so there's not much food around here."

It's the only explanation she gives before walking over to her closet. She opens the door and looks at it for a split second before grabbing a handful of things.

Once she has what she needs she glances at him. "Turn around I need to change."

She holds the clothes with one arm, using her other hand to make a shooing motion at him.

He instantly does as asked, closing his eyes shut in time as he catches a glimpse of her in the mirror next to him.

He hears rustling behind him before she clears her throat and tells him she's done and he can turn back now.

She walks back to the sofa and sits down grabbing a beignet from the bag.

"Oh and if you're going to snoop at least leave things how you found them." She adds as an after thought, a teasing smile on her face.

And his face most certainly does not turn red.

Not even a little bit- no matter what Hope thinks she saw.


	4. Chapter 4

Things are relatively calm for Hope before the dreams begin, she still struggles trying to find her mother but everything else is calm- dangerously so.

The first dream is ridiculous, she's standing in front of a parked car with headmaster Saltzman next to her when Ryan walks over.

She can't quite hear what's being said but somehow she knows headmaster Saltzman asks Ryan for directions.

It's bizzare so Hope ignores it, writes it off as stress.

But it happens again.

This time the dream is more clear, Alaric is standing next to her again but Ryan is already there as well, he calls her Jessica.

And for some reason they are talking about compulsion and mummies. She wakes up screaming and Ryan rushes to her side, concerned.

She knows she shouldn't waste time but she still spends that whole day looking through her aunt's books- searching up dreams and their meanings.

After that the dreams gets more and more often- flashes of a dark pit, of falling with only Ryan holding onto her, of blinding white lights appearing in the middle of nowhere dragging her away.

The dreams start feeling so real it becomes harder for Hope to recognize what's real and what's not.

She feels like she's going mad but she stays quiet and doesn't mention it to Ryan, instead she starts locking herself up in her room- fearing she might snap at him any moment.

Of course he notices and asks what's wrong but she acts like everything's fine, uncertain how to explain.

Almost a month passes by like that before she starts not sleeping, drinking witch herbs and coffees to stay awake.

It's unhealty and Hope is sure her aunt Freya would make her stop using the herbs if she knew.

Her mood only gets worse and she barely even speaks to Ryan anymore, at one point she's unsure if she's avoiding him or if he's avoiding her- perhaps it's both.

It's strange at first but it's a large house and they barely see each other.

It's only when the lack of sleep catches up with her that she snaps and goes looking for him, determined to get to the bottom of whatever it is that's causing her weirdly vivid dreams- nightmares.

She finds him in Elijah's room, his back turned to her as he plays the piano.

The door is cracked open but she freezes in front of them, her hand raised to knock. She waits until he's finished playing before speaking up, "I didn't know you played."

It's the first thing she's spoken to him in weeks and she almost cringes at her own akwardness.

He turns around but doesn't looked surprised to see her.

His lips part like he's about to respond but she beats him to it.

"Have we met before?" She has to get it all out before she chickens out.

"Because I've been having these dreams and they've been driving me crazy. Because they feel like memories but they don't make any sense-"

she chokes up, the lack of sleep making her an emotional mess, "And I've tried not sleeping to make it stop but it's like these memories are stuck in my head and I can't even- I feel like i'm going crazy!"

A nearby bookself is sent flying to the other side of the room, her magic going out of control the more unstable her emotions get.

He goes pale and she's never seen him look more afraid- except in her dreams, the memory of him panicking and begging her not to leave while making promises flashes through her mind.

"I don't-" He stutters as he stands up, taking a step backwards and away from her.

He clears his throat before speaking up again. "What kind of dreams have you been having exactly?"

There is still an edge of panic in his voice but hidden so well she barely notices.

She starts explaining the dreams- memories, more and more details rushing through her mind as she speaks them out loud.

At one point she's forced to stop talking because her head feels like it's about to blow apart.

She imagines this is what vampires feel like when they're first turned and all of the compulsion is removed, overwhelmed with all these memories that shouldn't exist.

The edges of her vision get blury and shes truggles to stay standing, swaying lightly until her back is pressed against the door.

She closes her eyes for a split second and when she opens them again Ryan is by her side, his expression even more panicked as he helps her stand.

His lips are moving but she can't understand a word he's saying- it's the last thing she notices before everything goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter is shorter then usual and it took me a while to upload it. I'm sorry for that. I've just been going over some ideas, thinking how I want this story to go. But i've finally made a decision so I should start updating quicker now.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be an intro for a story I was going to write, where Malivore sends Ryan Clarke back in the past to kill Hope before she activates her werewolf side. I got the idea when I was rewatching season five of The Originals but then I realised I wasn't really sure how to go from here so I decided to change it a little and post it as a one-shot.


End file.
